Shattered Expectations
by navyspark4
Summary: "Why can't I smell you? Why didn't I recognize your voice? Why are you trying to kill me? And why the HELL aren't you dead!" She wriggled in my grip, clearly uncomfortable. She sighed, succumbing to my gaze and stammered, "Uhh, I can explain."
1. Chapter 1

**I'm barfing, home from school, and bored so I decided to write! I honestly cannot even begin to describe where I got the idea for this fic because it's such a long story. Just know it has to do with English class, biology, and a donut. Nuff said. Enjoy!**

**(REVISED)**

**So I was bored today and though 'Oh hey! Let's go read some old fics!' As I sat here reading this **_**thing**_** I literally cringed every other sentence. So I went back and fixed it! Sort of….It's kind of a different style of writing, but I definitely like it better. Also there's someone telling the story…when they're talking the print will be bolded. Don't worry you can't miss it! If you think you know who it is let me know! I'm eager to see if anyone can figure it out!**

Force. The strength or power exerted upon an object. Tends to be something felt by the external body, but can be sensed by the mind.

Force. The power to influence, affect or control. Not necessarily in that order.

When the mind is touched by forced, it will react in one of three ways.

One: The mind will slowly crumble in on itself, catapulting into a state of insanity, and eventually disintegrate into nothing.

Two: The mind will move as one with force, complying with its every whim, but will lose itself in the ebb and flow of the universe.

Three (and by far the worst): The mind will attempt to reject force, but to no avail. Force always finds a way in.

Force. The only word to describe how I feel at the particular moment.

The third kind.

Inuyasha stood rigidly under the expansive shadow of a large white tent. Everything was seemingly perfect. From a marble blue sky, the sun proudly shown, its light glinting off the backs of metal chairs, but not so brightly that it blinded those in the surrounding area. Petals of various shades were tossed into the air as a gentle breeze stirred them from their flower anchors, finishing off the picturesque scene with a fairytale touch.

However, not is all as it seems.

The calm air was shattered by an ominous clang. A coffin door slammed shut. Inuyasha, having tried his best to contain his emotions, could do nothing but stare at the choppy descent of the casket as the thump-thump of his heart steadily increased. As uncomfortable as he was, Inuyasha made no move to escape the choking grip of the small, white canopy. Surely any movement at all would set off his inner demon, or worse.

Vaguely, Inuyasha heard a woman calling out to him over the chorus of sniffles and not-so-muffled sobs. _Kagome?_

"Inuyasha?" This time a male voice chimed in. "Inuyasha?"

Small fingers clutched his hand. "Inuyasha? It's time."

_No. Of course it's not._

Inuyasha, snapping to attention, ripped his hand from that of the fingers-which happened to belong to Souta-and quickly began shoving his way through the throng of tear-stained friends and family. As he made his way to the front of the crowd, Inuyasha noticed one face in particular lacked the telltale scent of salt and water.

Mrs. Higurashi.

No tears stained her pale face, but what she lacked in water she made up in deep, purple rings around her eyes. Clearly, the woman hadn't slept in days, kept up by the thought that she would never see her daughter. However, it wasn't Mrs. Higurashi's deteriorating state of health that chilled Inuyasha. It was the look in her eyes. Or lack thereof.

Her eyes betrayed nothing; no sadness, no remorse, no longing. Mrs. Higurashi did nothing, said nothing, but simply stare. It wasn't too terribly difficult to figure out that she was done. There was no fight, no hope, no will left to give. Inuyasha felt a momentary pang of concern, but quickly dismissed it. _Emotions are for weaklings. Tears are for children._

**Oh, how Inuyasha would change his mind.**

As if in a trance, Inuyasha climbed the few wooden to stairs to the top of small square stage. Each step felt miles high and suddenly Inuyasha's motivation was reduced to that of a peanut. That is to say he had none. At all. Inuyasha wanted nothing more than to bolt out of the small family graveyard. But he had been given. _I'll be damned if I don't finish it._

He fished around his blood-red haori, momentarily panicking when he didn't immediately find the crumpled peace of a paper. **Not to fret though. Much to his distress, our favorite hanyou did in fact find the rumpled card.**

Inuyasha snuck a glance out to the audience. Every damp set of eyes was on him. Swallowing the lump in his throat, Inuyasha began reading. "I'm fairly sure not a single one of you has the slightest clue who I am. But I, along with each and every one of you, have something in common. Kagome. She was a good person, an even better friend, and will always be in our hearts, never forgotten…" He trailed off, quickly scanning the next couple of lines. _This is complete bullshit! _The next few sentences were nothing, but small snippets of her life and quite possibly others. _This eulogy could be about anybody!_

_Sango was a good person!_

_Miroku was an even better friend!_

_Shippo will always be in our hearts!_

It simply would not do.

"Screw this!" he yelled, throwing the cards to the ground

"Kay, listen up people!" he shouted, as a few of the mourners jumped and a flurry of shock zipped through the crowd. "I don't even know enough words to describe the kinda person Kagome was. I seriously doubt any of you do either," he said, pointing as his eyebrows furrowed into a permanent scowl.

"She was the kind of person that never EVER thought of herself first. If she couldn't do anything to help someone, she'd beat _herself _up over it. She was the kind of person that worried about other people's problems BEFORE her own. Do any of you have _any _idea the kind of willpower and self-control that takes. Because I sure as hell don't.

Kagome wasn't here to just waltz through life," he continued, gesturing various 'waltzing' moves. She made and effort to touch people's lives! I've never known anyone that's had my back like she did. My ass would probably still be stuck to that damn tree if she hadn't come and pulled the arrow out of my chest!" Inuyasha had to admit to himself that he probably shouldn't have mentioned that last bit of information. He was on the receiving end of more than a few strange looks.

"Most of the time, I was an ungrateful, selfish bastard, but somehow…" he looked down at his bare feet, pausing. His next words came out in nearly a whisper. "She always managed to look past it."

With that, the hanyou scrabbled off the small stage, sliced a hole down the side of the white tent with his claws (cue the terrified screams of Kagome's funeral-goers), and was out of sight before anyone could question what in fact was going on. A bit dramatic, but plausible for the current situation.

Kagome's gravesite was located in a large, grassy clearing about a mile or so from the family shrine. Several of Kagome's ancestors had also been buried in the cemetery so Inuyasha figured it was a family thing. _Even in death they're still together._ Inuyasha hit the tree line with a fury_. I swear if I'm buried with Sesshoumaru, someone's gonna get the living shit haunted out of them._

Inuyasha quickly made his way back to Higurashi shrine, more specifically the well house. Before entering though, he took a quick look around the grounds. Everything was as it should be. The Goshinboku stood fluttering in the breeze. Kagome's bedroom was still ajar, her pink curtains slapping against the sill. Nothing was missing, except the most important thing of all.

A pained expression suddenly shadowed Inuyasha face and the back of his throat burned. Without a second thought he slid the door to the well house open and dove into the black well.

Somehow though, the soft blue light was harsher, the dark abyss beyond deeper, and the gentle journey more a tumultuous throw.

Inuyasha touched down on hard packed earth, but instead of immediately jumping out of the dried well, he simply stood, staring at the ground, his bangs shielding his eyes.

For several moments he stood unmoving, content to stay as he was, thinking. _It's not possible. Did that really just happen?_

Suddenly, a deep pulse emanated from his hip. _Tetsusaiga._ Inuyasha, without looking, pulled the sword from its sheath, but gone was the gold, blazing light, and the sharp, glorious tooth. In its stead was a ragged, tattered excuse of a plaything. A bit of metal attached to a wooden hilt.

Inuyasha raised a single eyebrow in confusion at the blade. In response, an electric charge shocked his arm and with a yelp he let the sword clatter to the ground.

Inuyasha kneeled down next to _Tetsusaiga. _"What the hell…?" he muttered to no one in particular. Out of habit he bent down and sniffed the blade. _Nothing but a pile of rust._

In frustration, Inuyasha jackknifed to a stand and kicked the sword against the side of the well, his foot tingling from the shock.

Just as he was going to attempt the impossible (and by that I mean ripped the **metal **sword to shreds) it dawned on him. _Kagome…_ "I ain't got anyone to protect…"

And then Inuyasha, well, he lost it. Suddenly the air was a flurry of red and white as Inuyasha repeatedly punched the stone wall. The air was a hailstorm of dislodged rock as Inuyasha beat it off the centuries old well.

"It's (punch) all (punch) your (punch) fault (punch)! Dammit (punch) dammit (punch) DAMMIT (punch)!"

And just like that, all of the fight drained out of the hanyou. His knees buckled and his will crumpled as Inuyasha slumped to the floor in a useless heap. He scooted himself over until he was leaning against one of the well walls.

In one swift motion, Inuyasha banged his head against the stone. _Everything _was _her_. The scratch of his nails against rock was Kagome screeching in his ears. Surely the vines on the wall were Kagome clutching tightly to his shoulders as he ran through the woods. Every blink he blinked, every knuckle he cracked, every gulp he swallowed was somehow a reminder of the girl from the future. But there was nothing he could do to stop her from entering his mind. Each time he shut her out, she snaked her way back in. She broke his barrier every time.

The air suddenly became very difficult to breathe.

"Thought you weren't gonna leave me, wench," he whispered.

Inuyasha jumped as a drop of water hit his hand. He glanced up expecting to find dark, twisting clouds snaking in the mouth of the well, but found only crystal, blue sky.

Another wet drop.

_It's not like this well actually has water in it, right?_

Another hit his face and he skittered to a stand. Confused, Inuyasha reached up to wipe yet another drop trailing down his nose when he realized his entire cheek was soaked. What the…?

Suddenly the well was shrouded in darkness. Inuyasha looked up just in time to see a human figure call out to him. "There you are Inuyasha. Now would you please do us all a favor and quit your sulking. I'm sure Kagome will return when she can stand to be in your presence!" Miroku. _One day, I'm just gonna lose it and rip his mouth right off his face._

Forgetting the drops of water, Inuyasha agilely scaled the well and landed in the grass with a soft thump.

Along with Miroku, stood Sango and Shippo, who were at the moment trying to catch Kirara as she nimbly darted through the sunny clearing. Nearby trees curved in the soft wind as the grass bowed to the breeze. Several white butterflies flitted about the field and the warm sunlight splashed each of its inhabitants. It should have been perfect. But there was something eerie that made the picturesque scene seem so incomplete.

"Come, Inuyasha. Let us find something to eat. I'm starved," called Miroku.

"NO!" Inuyasha growled a little too loudly.

Sango and Shippo, finally giving up on the game, trotted over to listen in at the sound of commotion.

"Inuyasha," Miroku began. "Get over yourself. Kagome will return at some point."

Inuyasha slowly raised his head and watched as each of the unconsciously took a step back, Shippo making a high pitched squeaking noise that remotely sounded like someone had stepped on his tail.

Barely keeping his voice steady, Inuyasha ground out, "It's done." And then his tough façade slipped. Just a little, but enough to show the others that _something _was deeply troubling their hanyou friend. "She's gone."

Having absolutely no motivation to stay and chit-chat about feelings Inuyasha took off. Running as if his life depended on it.

Whispers of "Face… wet stuff… tears… Kagome" floated through the air. Were his friends so naïve as to think he couldn't hear? He knew what they were saying, but honestly didn't care enough to return and protest. Mainly because they were right. Inuyasha wasn't exactly what some would call 'okay'.

Inuyasha ran. He ran until he couldn't see straight, his muscles were numb, and it was nearly impossible to breathe.

He ran to drown out the noiseless racket the human girl had left spiraling inside his head. He ran to focus solely on running and not on _her. _He ran to forget.

And it had worked! Inuyasha was so tired he could barely tell his hair from his feet.

In exhaustion, Inuyasha collapsed to the ground. But this ground wasn't hard. It was soft and rather cushy. He slit his eyes open. _Sand._ Pearly white sand glowing in the bright moonlight that seemed to stretch on forever. Inuyasha took a deep breath in and sure enough the scent of salt water intoxicated his nose.

Slowly he stood, facing the massive expanse of dark water, and watched the waves; the tide rolling in and out. Crest, fall. Up, down.

It was hypnotic.

But sweet calm and peace of mind can only last so long.

"Don't move," a female voice whispered.

Inuyasha froze, but almost immediately dismissed any threat. Slowly he let out a growl. A deep, low snarl that emanated from the recesses of his throat and shook the ground. The hanyou reeked of power and anger.

"It's your lucky day," he spat, cracking his fingers. "You caught me in a bad mood. Which means I'm probably gonna tear you to pieces pretty quick."

"It's only in your good fortune I didn't shoot your sorry butt on the spot." The woman quietly shot back. Clearly the woman's forte was not intimidation. **In my opinion she sounded a bit more like she was reprimanding a small child than threatening an angry, grieving hanyou. But that's just me.**

Inuyasha couldn't have cared less how she approached him though. He'd lost concern for his own wellbeing somewhere between the well and the beach. Quickly he sniffed the air, but Inuyasha found nothing but the salty smell of the ocean. _No scent. What is this thing?_

Inuyasha yawned. "Didn't quite catch that. Lost all interest at the word 'shoot.'"

"Do you not fear death half demon?" she snapped.

_She knows I'm hanyou? That's not possible! _"If I did, I'd be dead fifty times over by now," He replied, sarcasm dripping.

The quiver of a bow string being strung broke the cool stillness of the night. "Then die….?" The woman shouted. But it was more of a question than a loud declaration of death. Almost like she was unsure if she wanted to kill the half-demon or not.

Inuyasha crossing his arms, scoffed. "Keh, like I care."

Inuyasha, having decided death by a decidedly human girl was quite the pathetic way to go, whipped around, claws outstretched and prepared to pounce, when a pink arrow whizzed past his left ear.

"Next time I won't miss," she said. Inuyasha watched in bewilderment as the woman, or girl rather, strung another arrow.

_That's not possible…_ he stared, mouth agape and unmoving, as the girl strung another arrow and fired, her black mop of air swirling in the coastal breeze.

In a daze, Inuyasha instinctively threw up an arm, slicing the oncoming arrow in half before it even had a chance to touch him.

The girls hands flew to her mouth, her bow falling to the sand. Shock danced in her brown eyes. "You're not… but how…?" she sputtered.

"Kagome?"

Without a response the girl (Kagome?) turned on her heel and tore down the beach. Inuyasha, being a hanyou and all, easily caught up to her. At first she struggled, kicking his shins and throwing sand in his face, but eventually Inuyasha caught hold of her wrists. He forced her upright so there was avoiding his gaze.

To say the least Inuyasha was confused. A bit relieved as well, but primarily…..he was hurt. How could Kagome be alive and not tell him?

"Why can't I smell you? Why didn't I recognize your voice? Why are you trying to kill me? And why the HELL aren't you dead?"

She wriggled in his grip, clearly uncomfortable. Inuyasha continued to stare. Succumbing to his gaze, she sighed and stammered, "Uhh, I can explain."

**Review, please? (gets on knees, begs with shiny eyes and holds barf bag under mouth). If I get 5 reviews I'll update within 2 weeks of the fifth review (raises one eyebrow). Yeah I can do that.**

**Gotta go make up a crapload of homework.**

**Whee.**

**What do you guys think of the revised version? Yay? Nay? Let me know!**


	2. Chapter 2

So like I said last chapter I'm trying a new writing style and this is the **REVISED** edition. Nothing changed so you don't really need to reread it to see if there's anything new.

REMEMBER the bolded words are the unmentioned narrator's comments. Think you know who it is? Let me know!

Also thanks for the many reviews! Keep 'em coming!

The girl fiddled with the hem of her green, pleated skirt in silence. Inuyasha dropped her wrists, completely taken aback. **What, my dear Kagome? No half-baked excuses, no vain attempts at lying? No backless verbal threat?**

Inuyasha's voice hardened and his fingers curled into lethal fists. "Then start talking," he said evenly, grounding his teeth, scowl deepening. It took everything he _was_ not to rip the explanation from her mouth.

Suddenly, she became very still. Her heart thumped away in her chest, but her expression changed. One second it was one of determination and the next it was…softer somehow. Possibly, relieved? She wiped the back of her hand across her brow. It came away sweaty.

She slowly, timidly, raised her gaze towards the boy. "Inu-Inuyasha?" she asked, palpable tentativeness lacing her words.

"Ha!" Inuyasha straightened his back and placed his hands on his hips. "Would I be talking to you if I wasn't?"

Her 'soft' expression quickly shifted to one of irritation. The moon highlighted her small, heart-shaped face, casting sharp shadows across her cheekbones. "Does your attitude have an off switch?" she snapped, straightening as well.

"A question for an answer," he replied, unconsciously relaxing his stance. "Bit shady."

"Hey. Who has the weapon here? I'll be asking the questions," she barked.

"Still me," said Inuyasha, gesturing towards Tetsusaiga, that is, the empty sheath. He flinched, at once realizing his mistake. _Damn. _The sword was still at the bottom of the Bone Eaters well. Continuing he said, "Though it seems you are in fact unarmed."

She glanced off in the distance, noticing for the first time that her bow was several hundred feet away. If it bothered her, she didn't let it show. "You're one to talk!" she yelled. "Didn't anyone ever tell you not to leave your powerful weaponry lying around?"

Inuyasha replied simply by cracking his knuckles, accentuating his deadly claws.

She frowned and crossed her arms. "Humph! I can get my arrows back anytime I want."

"Yeah, okay," Inuyasha said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

She stomped her foot before yelling, "How about you just go back to whatever lowly cave you peeled your sorry butt out of and stay there for a couple thousand years!"

Inuyasha's scowl momentarily slid away, his full expression relaxing, but caught it before too much **(I do believe too much 'hurt' would be the proper wording)** showed. "Feh," he scoffed. "And they say I'm the rude, insolent jerk."

"Osuwari."

"SHIT!" **As most of you have probably already guessed, the young hanyou proceeded to gracelessly plummet to the ground, earning himself a nice mouthful of sand.** Spitting silt, Inuyasha yelled, "What the hell was that for, wench! I didn't even do any-"

"Inuyasha!" In complete and utter disbelief, Inuyasha watched on as Kagome, who, moments ago, had shot to kill, closed the distance between them. Sobbing she wrapped her arms around his torso and buried her face in his chest. _What the hell? Did someone forget to take their bipolar herbs this morning?_

"Inuyasha! I'm so sorry! You're not supposed to be here!" she blubbered.

"Kagome-"

She pulled back, revealing wide eyes and a tear-stained face. "I… I don't understand!" She sputtered, furiously shaking her head. "It wasn't supposed to happen this way!" Inuyasha couldn't help but wonder what _was_ supposed to happen.

"Kagome-"

"I would never _ever _kill you! I swear!" she insisted, locking eyes with the frozen hanyou. "But you've got to believe me! You're not supposed to be you!" _Oh, well that clears_ everything _up! _

"Kagome-"

"Oh no, did it hurt?" she asked, concern welling in her eyes. She glanced at the sand. "What kind of question is that? Of course it did!"

Kagome wrenched herself away from Inuyasha, leaving him utterly confused in her wake. She paced over to the water's edge just so that the tide barely washed over her toes. As the moonlight shown down and the waves droned on and on and on, the only thing bouncing around inside Inuyasha's head was the thought that something definitely wasn't right here.

**Really, Inuyasha. Figure that one out all by yourself, did ya?**

"Kagome-" _Interrupt me one more time. Please!_

She said nothing, but her body visibly wilted, her shoulders slumped forward and her head hung low. Her next words were barely above a whisper, could've been the rustling of leaves or the ticking of a clock. Should've been lost in the wind. "You have every right to be mad at me. I did a terrible thing. A terrible, _awful_ thing. I completely understand if you never want to see me again."

Inuyasha, full of the day's pent up anger, confusion, and anguish, was no longer able to keep his actions in check and screamed, "KAGOME!"

She whipped around, her face a blank slate and her hair a swirling, coal hurricane, dusting her shoulders. Inuyasha, about to confront the girl, suddenly stopped in his tracks. It was her eyes. Or the look. The cold, dead tinge. The empty, lifeless luster. It was nearly identical that of her mother's back at the...

She was done.

Inuyasha silently edged closer to girl, shuffling his bare feet through the glowing sand. Wordlessly, he outstretched his arms and brought his hands to rest on the girl's thin shoulders. She raised her head to look at him with expressionless eyes.

Inuyasha squeezed her shoulders. "Kagome, give it a rest. I'm not mad.

Her face contorted, twisting in distress. "You should be," she murmured, refusing to meet his gaze. "After what I did-"

She was quickly interrupted.

"Shut it, wench! I don't care."

**I can wholeheartedly assure you that the statement above is false. Inuyasha did and still does in fact care. He's just not completely what about as of yet.**

He ducked his head lower, managing to catch her stare. "I'm just glad you're not dead."

She immediately stiffened, her eyes sparking to life, and shoved Inuyasha's arms from her shoulders. "What did you say?" She asked, slowly stepping away from him.

Inuyasha folded his arms, adopting his signature 'I don't give a flying f*** attitude. "C'mon. Don't rub it in my face, wench. Are ya really gonna make me say it again?"

"Inuyasha," she said, her voice hardening. "What would make you think I was dead?"

The girl glared at Inuyasha.

Inuyasha glared at the girl. _What the hell?_

Inuyasha may have confused as all get out, but he knew the irritating, maddeningly naïve, impossibly brave girl before him. He _knew_ her. When shit hit the fan, she could be serious like no other.

"Kagome," he paused, uneasy. "I watched them bury you. In the ground."

"That's not possible. You're supposed to be…" Realization dawned on her face. "We have to leave now. Right now. "

She sprung to her feet and sprinted for the tree line at the very fringe of the beach, snatching her bow and quiver along the way. Inuyasha instinctively took off after her.

"What's going on? Why are we running?" he shouted.

"It's not safe!" she called from a few meters ahead.

"You've gotta give me more than that Kagome!" he shot back, finally caught up to her.

She paused, her eyes wide, and in a panic-filled voice begged. "Inuyasha, please. Just trust me!"

She seized Inuyasha's hand and tugged.

Warning bells immediately sounded inside the young hanyou's head. Every instinct Inuyasha had was screaming at him to NOT follow the girl. But this was Kagome. Why was he hesitating at all?

"C'mon!" she shrieked, tugging again.

**Unfortunately, our dear hanyou Inuyasha chose to follow his head rather than his heart. By all means, head is usually the way to go. But in certain moments, heart is the only choice to make. **

"I ain't got one reason to," he snapped. "You could be leading me straight into a trap. You could be a fake Kagome for all I know!"

"Why would I ever… because you still... Uhh!" She stamped her foot and whispered a hushed 'dammit.' "Inuyasha," she began, forcefully. "I can't make you trust me. There's nothing I can say or do to make you, but believe me when I say we have to get out of here. You can stay for the rest of the night for all I care, but I have to get on the other side of that barrier," she said, pointing in the distance. "Now."

Inuyasha raised a single eyebrow.

"I think we both prefer me alive at this point," she said her voice low and frustrated.

"Hold up. Barrier?" He asked, muddled.

"Yes, and we have to go now because if they figure out you're not one of them they'll kill you. Please, please come with me!" she begged, eyes shining.

"Whose 'they'?"

She scowled and turned her back. "Maybe I was wrong about you." And she with that cryptic sentence she stalked off into the woods.

By this point, poor Inuyasha was beyond confused and frustrated.

He had no reason to trust her, especially as of late. Typically, friends make a genuine effort NOT to kill each other. But this was _Kagome._ He knew her. Why would she, of all people, lead him into a trap?

Even so his instincts told him something wasn't right. He watched them bury her. _Kagome_ was _dead_. So why was she standing before him.

Inuyasha growled and dropped his head to his hand.

**Throughout the course of Inuyasha's past mental argument with himself, he several times motioned to follow his friend, but each time stopped himself.**

_It's just Kagome. There ain't no reason I got to doubt her._

_Kagome is dead. Why can't you get that through your head?_

_But…_

Their past outweighed their present.

He ran after her.

He quickly caught up to her just as she was opening the mouth of a large, pink barrier in the shape of a dome. But something about this barrier was different. The hairs on the back of Inuyasha's neck stood erect and his nose wrinkled. Something smelled like burnt hair. Every ten seconds or so, the dome would glow brighter and a pulse of energy would blast off the sides and into the night. Inuyasha skin crawled with goose bumps when the blast rolled over his body.

Sometime in the recent past, Kagome had gained an immense amount of power,

She stood waiting, holding the gateway ajar for several moments before Inuyasha wordlessly entered the dome.

The two walked in silence, trudging through a thick layer of underbrush for several minutes before she finally spoke; this time much calmer and less urgent. "My camp isn't too far from here. We can figure things out when we get there."

"Whatever." The boy crossed his arms and frowned, following her through the dark woods.

"Inuyasha?"

"What, wench?"

"I'm sorry I yelled before."

**A short silence.**

"S'okay," He muttered.

**Another short silence.**

"It's just… I've had to be careful about what I do lately. "

"It helps if you ain't dead," he replied. And then added **(much quieter I might add)**, "Please don't do it again."

She momentarily stopped walking, as Inuyasha kept heading forward. Though Inuyasha couldn't see it, the girl shook her head and smiled to herself before setting of at light jog to catch up to the hanyou.

Once she did it was awkward to say the least.

"Hey, ya never answered my question," Inuyasha started. "Why can't I smell you?"

She laughed. "OH!" she burst, sounding mildly relieved. "It's a mixture of herbs and purification salts. Remember that crazy old lady who kept throwing salt at you?"

"Keh! Did you honestly expect me to forget?"

She made a face. "Anyway, we ran into each other a week or two ago and when I told her about my…uhh… my situation she gave me the recipe. It's worked pretty well so far."

"Hmmm, okay. But that still doesn't explain why I didn't recognize your voice."

"That one was even easier than creating a salve," she said, mischievously.

"Oh, yeah?" He shot back sarcastically.

"Your stupidity," she said, matter of fact.

"What? Hey! You stupid-"

"We're here!" she interrupted.

She pushed through a layer of low tree fronds and into a small, cleared area. Inuyasha paused, still a little unsure of her intentions.

"Kagome! You're back!" a small, female voice shouted.

_Hey, wait a minute. I know that voice…_

"Brat, quit talking to the woman!" a raspy voice shot in return.

_Oh no, you've got to be kidding me._

"You're not the boss of me!" she yelled.

"Says who?" he replied.

**And this, my dear readers, is where the story gets interesting.**

"Says my tall-ness!" she cried. "

"Well… my Lord things I'm special," he said quietly.

"Whatever you say, Master Jaken." A slight scuffle. "I'm still taller than you!" She sing-songed.

_Kagome, you didn't._

Inuyasha pushed through the branches to find the little girl-Rin-holding the highly annoying, anger inducing green…. Lizard…. thing upside down whilst he madly waved a wooden staff in the air. Had Inuyasha been so entirely pissed to see them her probably would've laughed.

"Put me down, whelp!" he shouted.

"Master Jaken, maybe you should grow some," she giggled.

"Don't you think I would if I could!" he snapped.

_And that leaves…_

Inuyasha sniffed the air, his hand instinctively scrabbling for Tetsusaiga. Realizing once again that his sword was missing, he simply cracked his knuckles.

"It's like you're asking me to wipe the forest with your ass, Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha turned in the direction of his brother's scent and froze.

Sesshoumaru sat on the ground, in the freaking dirt, propped against a tree, his armor lying next to him on the forest floor. That was tip-off number one. Sesshoumaru was a cold-hearted bastard, but he wasn't stupid. You don't just take your armor off. Ever.

But what really shocked Inuyasha was the overwhelming amount of blood that drenched the bark of the tree on which he leaned. Even the tips of his hair and the fluff… thing he carried over his shoulder **(which was currently wrapped around his body I might add) **were coated.

**Fun fact: Sesshoumaru looked like a giant furry caterpillar cocooned in his shoulder fluff.**

The entire front of his white shirt was also decorated with massive starbursts of blood. The air positively wreaked of the pungent stench of his blood. **Did I mention he was lying on the ground? That's just wrong.**

"So," he grunted. "The half-breed lives."

**Did I mention the third eye?**

Well, there ya go. So many questions… What's going on? Why is Kagome with Sesshoumaru? Where is Tetsusaiga? Why is Kagome acting so strangely? Is there a reason that bagels sound particularly delicious right now?

Tune in next chapter for several unexplained answers!


	3. Chapter 3

**Plot twist: I haven't dropped off the face of the Earth. Here's the next chapter and if you haven't read any of the revised chapters, the bold faced font is an unmentioned narrator. Think you know who it is? Let me know!**

**Of all the speculated reactions our dear Inuyasha could have had, the one he settled on is perhaps the one I would've least expected.**

He laughed.

One of those side-splitting, face cramping, tear-spurting laughs.

"Eh, Sesshoumaru," he said between gasps, "you got a little somethin'…" he motioned toward his forehead.

**Fun fact: Our scowling taiyoukai was not amused.**

A poison whip flicked past Inuyasha's head, dangerously close to frying his right ear. If the hanyou noticed, he didn't care.

"Kagome, I don't know how ya did it, but… this, this is good!"

"Inuyasha, wait…" she protested.

"Done in by human girl. What a lousy way to go!"

"Inuyasha, hold on a sec…." she objected.

"Ha!" He cracked his knuckles. "I could kill the sorry bastard without even breaking a sweat!"

"_Inuyasha_, enough!" she shouted, energy crackling the air.

The boy, quieting, finally turned his attentions toward the girl. She glared in his direction. "Inuyasha, stop. I didn't do this. He's on our side."

Silence drifted through the empty clearing. Even the imp and Rin hushed at the sound of the girl's sharp tone.

The hanyou arched a thick, eyebrow. "Kagome, have you lost it? You do know who this is, right?"

"He's your brother-"

"Then you should know by now that he's an asshole extraordinaire," Inuyasha interrupted. "The guy's tried to kill you, wench!"

She put the tips of her pointer fingers together. "Well, it wasn't me specifically. It was more of a collective 'kill the whole group' thing…."

The hanyou blinked in surprise. "We're leaving. Now." In three short strides, Inuyasha had the girl's wrists in hand and promptly began dragging her back towards the dark forest.

"Hey, let me go!" she shouted, trying in vain to tug her wrists free.

"Whatever he's promised you, you ain't gonna get," he said without looking back. "You can't trust the asshole."

"I said, let me GO!" she violently wrenched her hands in his grasp, but the hanyou wasn't letting go anytime soon.

"Miko." All heads turned toward the injured taiyoukai. No one had been expecting his input.

"Milord…?" The imp **(I'm still in utter shock Sesshoumaru hasn't killed the poor little thing as of yet)** asked, blatantly concerned.

Sesshoumaru's newly attained third eye blinked.

**A quick description: The third eye on Sesshoumaru's forehead is not purely a carbon copy of his original two. This one is vastly different in that instead of a bright golden hue, its color is more of an electric green with silver pupils and a pinpoint of red residing in the center. What's more is the eye, instead of being horizontal, rests vertically upon his forehead, completely obscuring the crescent moon over which it lies.**

"Miko," he repeated, "you would do well to reveal to Inuyasha your true identity."

Inuyasha bristled. "Shut up, bastard! Kagome, he's full of shit. Just… Kagome?"

The girl had lowered her gaze and spoke nothing. The hanyou immediately dropped her hands and took a shocked step back.

"Who the hell…?" he started, unable to finish.

"I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I'm not Kagome."

**Insert unintelligible hanyou noise here.**

"But!" she fumbled in her pocket for a moment before revealing a clear, golf-ball sized stone. "I know where she is."

**And there you have it. I apologize for the wait and I know this chapter doesn't account for it at all, but I promise I'll try to update more! Also, I know this chapter's super short, but I had some time after a calculus test so it's whatever.**


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